She was hyper aware of him. The slight change in his breathing signaling that he was waking; the instinctual feel of those luminous eyes raking against her skin. She had to resist the temptation to shudder beneath that weight with each and every fiber of her being. For to know she was awake would be akin to inviting his attention again. Her body ached, but more than that, her heart shuddered avid disgust within the hollow of her chest. There was trepidation, fear that bloomed like a nestle of thorns around it, cradling it in a tempestuous grasp, one that was just as threatening as he. How could such a nightmare spring forth as if from nowhere?
She had never received attention from their proposed god before, she had not glimpsed his likeness in any way save for the statue that they were trained to worship. That she was taught the death's dance for. It was an elden practice, one that combined carefully manicured steps and the sainting of water magic. Not once had he ever graced her performances with his presence. Not as she glided to the heavy pulse of the drums across the placid surface of dark waters.
Would she have only known, could she have saved him?
The tears threatened her eyes again, they stung and bit at the precipice of her lash line. She'd have clenched her lids to halt them, but that would perhaps hint that she was not slumbering. Still yet, like the very marble he had been carved from once upon a time, she remained wholly inert as his arm departed and she welcomed the cold that embedded itself against her flesh in its wake. Though she did not dare to hope for his absence for too long as dread settled like a pressing weight against her breast as instead those fingers pushed against the fabric of her gown.
A small sob escaped her, then, unbidden but undeniable. She would curl in upon herself, trying to remain small. How she longed to have been something other than a shrine maiden. How she now insisted she be anything other than the mere dancer bidding farewell to those souls departed. That she had cursed his prowess instead of celebrating what she thought would be the liberation of her people - their safety. To think she had once also thought him a god. Would they still think the same if they had witnessed the way he bled under the scrape of her nails, the meaningless defenses she had presented? Would they still hail and worship him? Deities didn't bleed. But he did. No god. Only a monster. One that whispered: "Stay, my precious Moonlight."
And she would.
For what else could she do?
Just like that, he was gone, but she had learned that no matter if she could see him or not, she was never alone. He was just on the edge of shadows, just beneath the water's surface. Just beyond a tree. Escape was hopeless and the effort was in vain each time she had tried, until finally threats had further stayed her actions. If she did not remain at his side, he would flood the isle of her origin. He would raise the tides and drown them all. And though she knew him to be no god, she also held no doubts to the level of his power to commit that animosity. He had, already, proven such barbaric brutality all too well within his grasp. "We should be getting close now, Moonlight."
His voice swept over her like coddled milk, and it was a glare of darkened, sleep deprived eyes that would meet the pleased glimpse of his expression. She remained within the cover of the tent, her hands shaking as they pulled tightly together the ruined silk of her only cover. She was a stranger to this sensation, this red-hot coal that had lodged itself along the brambles and holes that perforated her chest. Disdain was not nearly close enough to the level of loathing that she suffered for him. She feared that she would never find a word to describe it. "Are you ready to become a Goddess?" Her expression was unchanging as was the nausea that pooled within her. Her vocals housed a soft tremor.
"Nothing you will ever make me will be holy."
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